Prison of the Mind
by Cattie V
Summary: When Amy gets taken hostage and imprisoned in her own mind, the Doctor and Rory are forced to rely on the help of Dom Cobb and his crew of Extractors. But the dream world has more dangers for the Doctor than he realizes.
1. Taken

_Disclaimer: I own neither Doctor Who nor Inception. The former is the property of the BBC while the latter belongs to Warner Brothers._

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_A/N: Oh, yeah! I'm the first to do a Doctor Who/Inception crossover. This is also my first crossover, so please go easy on me._

Chapter One: Taken

_Thud!_ The TARDIS's landing was far from gentle and her occupants found themselves thrown to the floor. Rory groaned as he got to his feet. "Couldn't you have made that not such a bumpy ride, Doctor?" he asked as offered his wife his hand and helped her up.

The Doctor was already on his feet and heading towards the door. "Stop complaining." he said, sounding unusually chipper. "All you ever do is complain." He threw open the TARDIS doors and stepped out into the brilliant sun light.

"I do not always complain." grumbled Rory under his breath as he and Amy emerged hand in hand. The Doctor heard him and smiled smugly. "Shut up." Rory glared at him.

"Where are we exactly?" asked Amy, trying to stop a fight before it started. It looked like the three travelers had landed on a bridge. People walked back and forth, ignoring the strangers in their midst.

"Guess." said the Doctor, smiling to himself, sure he had chosen the right spot. Sure Amy had never mentioned wanting to come here, but what woman didn't? As far as he knew all women dreamed of coming here.

Amy silently studied her surroundings. The people themselves didn't seem to be anything special. She had learned early on that in the future Earth wouldn't be the only planet populated by the human race. She looked at the buildings, the structures, then one caught her eye. She pointed. "Is that the Eiffel Tower? Are we in Paris?"

The Doctor gave one swift and decisive nod. Amy squealed in delight. "Thank you, thank you!" she said jumping up and down. The Doctor winked at Rory who just scowled. Amy didn't notice.

"Stop!" the voice broke through the crowd and the Doctor's head instantly turned in the direction that it had come from. "Stop, thief!"

The people on the bridge didn't pay any attention, but the Doctor scanned the crowd looking for the source. "There!" he pointed to a young woman either in her late teens or early twenties chasing a man twice her size. In his hands he clasped a purse.

The man was running in their direction and just as he was about to go past them, the Doctor stepped forward, catching the man in the chest and knocking him to the ground. The man growled and tried to get up, but the Doctor placed his foot on the man's stomach. "I don't think so." said the Doctor coldly, as he snatched the purse away. The young woman came running up. "Yours I take it?" said the Doctor handing her the purse.

She nodded. "Thanks." she panted, all out of breath from the long run. She glared at the man on the ground. "He snatched it while I was standing in line at a cafe."

"I'm the Doctor." he said introducing himself. "These are my friends, Amy and her husband Rory."

"Ariadne." she shook his hand. "I'm sorry, but Doctor who? I didn't catch that." Amy snickered. This happen all the time!

"Just the Doctor." he answered ignoring the looks Amy and Rory were giving him. "Ariadne. That's a nice name. Where you named after the princess in Greek Mythology?"

Ariadne brightened. "Yes, I was. Not a lot of people ask me that."

He shrugged. "I'm not surprised. Not very many people know of the myth of Ariadne, Theseus and the Labyrinth. A real, lovely woman she was." Amy coughed. "I mean, I've always imagined that she was."

Ariadne smiled. "Yeah, me too. Well, I have to go. It was nice meeting all of you."

"You too." said Amy. She watched as the other woman hurried out of sight. Once she was gone, she turned and glared at the Doctor.

"What?" he asked. "What did I do now?"

"You very nearly gave away that you're a time traveler." said Rory. "Have you really met Ariadne? I mean the one from the legend."

The Doctor nodded. "Yep, I've met a lot historical...and legendary figures." He turned and began to walk in the opposite direction than Ariadne had just gone.

"Like who?" asked Rory, suddenly filled with curiosity. Amy linked her arm in his as they followed after the Doctor.

"Well, I met Winston Churchill and Vincent Van Gogh." said Amy. She laughed at the shocked look on Rory's face.

"Really?" he asked, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

"Really." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Who else have you met?" he asked the Doctor.

"Oh, too many to name."

"Come on, Doctor. Just name a few."

"Alright, I've met Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria, William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, Agatha Christie, and many others. Satisfied?"

Rory nodded. "Yes, but do you think that one day I could met someone famous?"

"Stay with me long enough and chances are you will." said the Doctor. They had come to the end of the bridge and he leaded them down a street heading towards the Eiffel Tower. "Ah, France!" he smiled. "I love this country!"

"So you've been here before?" asked Amy.

The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yes! Lots of times."

"I wonder-" began Amy, but she was cut off when four big burly men stepped out from an alleyway and grabbed her.

"Hey!" Rory lunged at them, but one of them punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. The Doctor whirled around, only to be hit and knocked out as well.

Amy screamed as the men threw her in the back of a black van. The van picked up speed and took off down the street, leaving the two men lying on the ground.

_A/N: I was listening to the soundtrack for Inception as I wrote this. Good music to listen to while writing! Anyway, review, review, review!_


	2. Help

_Disclaimer: As much as I would like to take credit for such genius works as Doctor Who and Inception, I have to admit that they aren't mine._

Chapter Two: Help

The Doctor opened his eyes and groaned. His head throbbed and his vision was blurry. He blinked, trying to focus. He sat up and robbed his eyes. There was something...something important, but what? Suddenly it all came back to him. _Amy._

He looked around and spotted Rory lying on the ground, a horrible gash in his forehead and he was bleeding. The Doctor quickly went over to him and shook him, trying to wake him up. Rory's eyes opened. "What?" he asked weakly and groggily.

"Rory, we have to go. They took Amy." The Doctor saw by the look in Rory's eyes that his memory came back. He swore and tried to stand up, but nearly collapsed back to the ground, but the Doctor managed to catch him.

"Whoa!" said the Doctor. He frowned, studying the gash on Rory's head. "We need to get you some help."

"No!" said Rory. "We..we have to find Amy." he said breathing heavily.

"And we will," the Doctor assured him, "but we need to get you some help first. You're not going to be much use at finding Amy if in your present condition."

Rory reluctantly gave in. He tried walking on his and nearly fell again. The Doctor had him put his arm around his shoulder and the two moved slowly down the street. "We'll never find her at this rate." said Rory. "You'd just move fast without me."

"And leave you here alone?" asked the Doctor. "You're right I would be faster without you, but Amy would never forgive me if I left you on your own like this."

Rory sighed in frustration. "You're right. She wouldn't." They hadn't gone far when a shout attracted there attention. They turned to see a cab pull up. The passenger door opened and Ariadne hopped out, with was a young man.

"What happened?" she asked with great concern. She looked around. "Where's Amy?" The Doctor didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. The looks on his and Rory's faces said enough. "Oh."

She turned to the man with her. "Arthur, these are two of the people I was just telling you about. Arthur, this is the Doctor and Rory. This is Arthur."

Arthur nodded his head in greeting. "Having a ruff time?"

"I guess you can say that." said the Doctor giving him a wry smile. "We were jumped by a few guys and they took my friend...Amy."

"That's terrible!" said Ariadne. "Do you need a lift to the police station?"

Rory smiled at her gratefully. "That would be good. Thanks."

The Doctor and Rory stared in disbelief at the squat French policeman before them. "Nothing?" Rory clenched his teeth and trembled in rage. "How can you say that? How can you say there's nothing you can do and be so calm about it?"

He was still leaning on the Doctor for support, but now he had a bandage on his head. The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, realizing that Rory had more of a right to be angry then he had. Amy was Rory's wife after all, not his.

Ariadne's eye flickered back and forth between the two angry men and the calm, unconcerned constable. Arthur stood next to her, an amused smile on his face. "Bet you twenty bucks Rory beats the constable to a pulp." he whispered to her. She rolled her eyes.

"That's too obvious." she whispered back and Arthur shrugged.

The constable didn't even blink under Rory and the Doctor's furious gazes. "Do you know how many go missing while on vacation?" he asked. "Too many! We don't have the man power to find them all."

"She isn't missing." the Doctor pointed out. "She was kidnapped."

"Happens all the time." said the constable.

"This is my wife we're talking about." said Rory coldly.

"Many of the others who have disappeared over the years are also wives, some husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, sons, daughters, you name it. If you think we're going to devote all of our time just look for yours and ignore all the others who have been missing for months, years even, you are wrong."

The Doctor sighed. He hadn't thought going to the police was a good idea in the first place, but Rory had insisted. He knew the constable was right of course, but that didn't make him any happier about the situation. "Come on, Rory." He gently lead away the still fuming Rory. "I told you they wouldn't be any help."

"What are you guys going to now?" asked Ariadne.

"Find Amy." said the Doctor.

"On your own?" asked Arthur.

The Doctor nodded. "If need be, yes." Rory staggered into the street. He shook his head and tears started to fall. He opened his mouth to speak, but found that words refused to come.

"There, there." said the Doctor, awkwardly patting him on the back. "We'll find Amy. We won't quite looking until we find her. I promise." Rory nodded gratefully that the Doctor was there to help him.

"Is it alright if we come with you?" asked Ariadne. "We'd really like to help."

"We would?" asked Arthur. Ariadne glared at him. "We would!"

The Doctor smiled. "Sure. Be glad to have you tag along. We could use all the help we can get. Now, let's start by..." he traveled off as something, or rather someone, caught his eye. Rory noticed too and they both began to run across the street.

"Where you going?" asked Ariadne chasing after them, Arthur right behind her.

"That man." the Doctor pointed to a big burly fellow who looked like he hadn't showered in a week. "He was one of the ones that attacked us. He took Amy."

The man spotted them and suddenly took off as if he were running a marathon. Rory, the Doctor, Amy, and Arthur dodged pasted pedestrians trying to catch up to him. As they ran, the Doctor couldn't help but think that this just couldn't be coincidence. In his book, there was no such thing, so something was up.

_A/N: One word: review!_


	3. Found   and Lost

_Disclaimer: I own Doctor Who and Inception...in my dreams._

Chapter Three: Found...and Lost

The man had disappeared. The Doctor and Rory had turned a corner to find that he was gone. They stopped in their tracks. The Doctor frowned and scratched his head. "Where'd he go?" asked Rory.

"Thinking." the Doctor answered. Ariadne and Arthur came running up and nearly plowed into them.

"Why'd you stop?" asked Ariadne. "Where's the man?"

"Gone." replied Rory, sullenly.

"Gone?" said Arthur. "Gone where? He couldn't just have vanished into thin air!"

"Doctor?" asked Ariadne, turning to him for answers. He held up a finger in a "just a moment" gesture.

"Thinking!" he repeated. The others waited in silence, but after several minutes passed with him offering no comment or suggestion, Arthur gave him a slight nudge.

"Alright!" said the Doctor. "As Arthur pointed out he couldn't have _just_ vanished into thin air. So, there are...three possible options as to what might have happened." he began to pace as he spoke. "First, he teleported."

Arthur snorted and he and Ariadne exchanged a look that clearly showed they thought the Doctor was crazy. "That's impossible."

"No, it's not." said the Doctor. "Teleportation is perfectly possible...just not for the human race...not yet anyway. They won't have the technology for...oh, at least another two hundred years."

"So, he either got the technology from an alien species or he's a time traveler." said Rory. Ariadne and Arthur turned to Rory in disbelief. For he had spoken as if both of those options were not only possible but as if something like this happened everyday.

"Correct, Rory!" the Doctor beamed at him and Rory felt proud, like a student who has pleased his teacher. "That or," added the Doctor quickly, "he's really an alien disguised as a human or he's been kidnapped by someone who's an alien or a time traveler."

Rory nodded. It made sense to him, but Ariadne and Arthur were wearing expressions of complete bewilderment. Arthur opened his mouth to speak. "Option number two," said the Doctor before Arthur could say anything. Arthur quickly closed his mouth.

"Option number two," the Doctor repeated. "He's been erased from time and space." Ariadne and Arthur blinked. As crazy as option number one had sounded, this was ten times as crazy.

Rory frowned. Then his eyes widened in realization. "The crack! But...but I thought you closed it."

The Doctor nodded. "I did, so I doubt it is option number two. Besides, if it were Ariadne and Arthur wouldn't remember him. Which leaves us with option number three, which is the most likely."

"And that is...?" asked Rory.

"That he simply slipped into one of these buildings. It would have to be one of the closer ones mind you, otherwise we would have seen him." Now that Ariadne and Arthur understood and they wondered why he hadn't mentioned it first, instead of babbling on about aliens, time travelers, and cracks. Obviously Rory wondered the same thing.

"Why didn't you mention that option first?" he asked. "We could have found him by now!"

"Because that option was the most simplistic one!" said the Doctor. "My mind doesn't work like that. It always jumps to the most complicated options first."

Rory sighed. "Well, which building do you suggest we look in first?" he asked. The Doctor pointed to the one closest to them.

"That one. If he's not there, then the one next to it, and so on and so forth." Rory nodded and followed the Doctor into the first building. Ariadne and Arthur were just about to follow when the Doctor and Rory walked right back out. "It's complete empty." said the Doctor. "Nowhere for our assailant to hide."

They tried to the next building over. It was a bakery and was crammed full of people. The Doctor stood on a chair and surveyed the crowd but didn't see the man, so they left. In the third building they had better luck. It looked like an old warehouse and they were plenty of places for the man to have hidden himself.

The place was big, at least twice as big as the two previous buildings combined. There were three rooms and a stair case leading to another floor. "Spread out." said the Doctor. "Give a shout if you find anything."

The Doctor, Rory, and Arthur each took one of the rooms, while Ariadne went upstairs. The room the Doctor was in appeared to have been once used as a library. Books were strewn across the floor, instead of being on the shelf lining the far wall. They hadn't been touched in a long time, years, the Doctor guessed, as the dust in the room was very thick and the walls and the books were covered with cobwebs.

The Doctor tutted. "Now that's no way to be treating books." He bent and picked one of the books and blew the dust off it and wiped away the cobwebs. The cover read _Oliver Twist_. The Doctor scowled. "Old Dickens would have a fit if he knew that a book he wrote was treated like this." He gently stuck on the book in one of his pockets.

Although it was clear that the man who had attacked them earlier wasn't hiding in this particular room, the Doctor stayed and began to clean up. He had just finished placing the last of the books on the shelf, when a shout from upstairs caught his attention.

He dashed out of the room and up the stairs, just as Rory and Arthur burst out of the rooms they had been searching and followed him. The top floor held twice as many rooms as the bottom floor, but they were only half as large. "In here!" Ariadne called, from the last room on the left. The three men went in.

There lying in a chair was the man. He was fast asleep and was drooling, but it wasn't him that held everyone's attention. Across from the man, in another chair, was the sleeping form of a very familiar face.

"Amy!" Rory rushed forward and grabbed his wife's hand. "Amy?" he gently shook her, trying to wake her up. But when she didn't wake, he shook her harder. "Amy!" He knew she was alive, he could tell because she was breathing, but why would she wake?

When he looked back at the Doctor, hoping to get answers, he saw that the Doctor was staring intently at Amy's other arm. Rory followed his gaze. There was something, a needle perhaps, protruding from the skin and there was a long, skinny tube running from the needle to a strange looking device on a stool by Amy's side.

"Uh, oh." said Arthur and as the Doctor and Rory, turned to look at him, they could tell that both he and Ariadne knew that the device was.

"What is it?" asked the Doctor after a moment's silence.

Arthur didn't answer, instead he looked back at Ariadne. "Well?" he asked. "Should we?"

"We should call Cobb." she said. Arthur nodded.

"Who's Cobb?" asked Rory.

"A...friend." said Arthur.

"And why should you call this...friend?" asked the Doctor.

Ariadne looked at him and Rory, sympathy in her eyes. "For a rescue mission."

_A/N: Hope you guys haven't given up on me yet! Please, people, review, review, review!_


	4. Banding Together

_Disclaimer: While I guess it is a good thing that I don't own Inception (as it most likely wouldn't be as good if I did), I can't help thinking that the world would be a better place if I owned Doctor Who._

Chapter Four: Banding Together

Whether it was by a lucky coincidence or that fate was smiling on the Doctor and Rory, Dom Cobb was actually in Paris at that very moment. Miles was back teaching and had invited him and the kids to come out for a visit. So when Ariadne and Arthur decided to call him, he was not more than three blocks away.

He had just put James and Phillipa down for a nap after a long day at the Louvre when his cell went off. He frowned when he saw who the call was coming from. It had been months since he had spoken to Arthur and as much as Cobb missing his friend, he knew the only reason Arthur would call him was for a job.

He hesitated, seriously considering not answering the call and letting it reach his voice mail, but something deep down told him to answer the phone and listen to what Arthur had to say.

Arthur was just to give up and hang up when Cobb's voice came through on the other side. "Hello, Arthur." Arthur couldn't help but think that Cobb didn't sound too pleased that he was calling him.

"Who exactly is this Cobb?" whispered the Doctor to Ariadne. As he said the name he had brief flash back of General Cobb shooting Jenny. He quickly shoved the memory aside.

"He's a friend." she whispered back. "The best."

"The best at what?" asked Rory, joining in on the conversation. "And way do we have to perform a rescue mission? Amy's right there!" he pointed to the still sleeping form of his wife.

Ariadne sighed. "It's...complicated. I'll have to let Cobb explain...when he gets here."

"I told you, Arthur. I'm through that kind of life. I'm not doing another job...ever! So forget it."

"It's not a job, Cobb." said Arthur. "It's...a rescue."

Cobb frowned, unsure if he had heard Arthur right. "A rescue? What do you mean? What's going on?"

"A woman was..well, kidnapped. We found her, but...she's been put under Cobb. She's trapped...in her own mind."

Cobb was intrigued despite himself. With all of his experience and years in the this particular field, he had never heard of something like this happening. He had to admit the idea had certain appeal. He had missed the dreams and he had had a hard time finding work doing anything else. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, I'll help. Where are you?"

"Paris. How soon do you think you can get here?" Cobb smiled to himself. He had been dreading the idea of another long flight. Plus, time was important, especially for the woman. Time passed more quickly in a dream than in reality. He didn't want this woman to be stuck for "years."

"Soon." he said, deciding to surprise Arthur with his quick arrival. "Where exactly in Paris?" Arthur told him and Cobb's smile got bigger. He could be there in no time. "Do you need me to call Ariadne and Eames?"

"Just Eames. Ariadne is already here."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

It just so happened that Eames was also in Paris. He was drinking coffee at a cafe when he got the call from Cobb. He listened with interest as Cobb explained the situation. The idea of a rescue mission intrigued him as much as it did Cobb. So within ten minutes of Arthur calling him, Cobb and Eames arrived at the warehouse.

Arthur and Ariadne had just resigned themselves to a long wait, when Cobb and Eames entered the room. Arthur nearly fell out of this chair he was surprised. Ariadne just smiled. "You guys were already in Paris, weren't you?"

Cobb nodded. Arthur rolled his eyes. "You could have told me." He cleared his throat and began introductions. "Cobb, Eames, this is Amy," he gestured to the young red head, "her husband Rory and their friend...the um...the Doctor."

Rory's eyes were red and Cobb felt immense sympathy for him. He could only imagine what the young husband was going through. "Have Arthur and Ariadne explained the situation?" he asked him. Rory shook his head.

"No. They just said that they would need your help for a rescue mission, but I don't understand why. I mean, she' right there! Ariadne said that you'd explain."

"I thought you'd be able to explain better then either of us." said Ariadne. Cobb nodded. He hesitated, unsure how to begin.

"What do you know about dreams?" he asked, deciding that would the best place to start. Rory and the man Arthur had called the Doctor looked surprised at the question and both were obviously wondering what that had to do with anything.

"When you say 'dreams'," said the Doctor, "do you mean dreams we have when we're sleeping, or dreams we have about what we want to do with our lives?"

"The former." said Eames.

Rory frowned. "Not much. Except they seem really when you're in them."

"Have you ever heard of shared dreams?" asked Cobb. Rory and the Doctor both shook their heads. "Technology exists that can allow people to share dreams, but not your usual kind. When you dream you don't have an control over the dream, correct?"

"Yeah." said Rory, not getting where Cobb was going with this. The Doctor suddenly seemed to understand where all this was heading. He stared at Amy. Was she really...?

"Well, in shared dreaming, you the dreamer create the world of the dream. You can bring others into that dream."

"How come I've never heard of this sort of thing before?" asked Rory.

"Well," said Cobb, shifting a little uncomfortably. "It isn't strictly legal."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because some people use to it to steal other people's secrets. It's called extraction."

"Some people." said the Doctor, looking pointed at Cobb and his crew. "People like you, you mean."

Cobb shrugged, not denying it. "I used to. Not anymore though. I'm moving on. Starting over." The Doctor still glared.

"Thieves." he muttered.

"Hey!" objected Ariadne. "I've never performed extraction, only inception."

"Which is?" asked the Doctor not like the sound of it.

"Planting an idea in someone's mind and making them think it was theirs." said Eames casually. The Doctor looked appalled.

"That's even worse!" The Doctor noticed that Rory was looking just as shocked and disgusted as he was. If Amy didn't need Cobb and his crew, the Doctor wouldn't be having anything to do with them.

Eames shrugged. "It makes money."

"Oh, it's okay then!" said the Doctor sarcastically. "It makes money. Anything could be justified with that excuse...even murder!"

"Hey!" said Arthur. "You don't want our help?"

"I didn't say that." said the Doctor. "But Rory and I are only going to you for help for Amy's sake. That's the only reason."

"Where'd you guys pick up this jerk?" asked Eames.

"It wasn't me! It was Ariadne!" said Arthur defensively. Eames shot her an accusatory glance.

"A guy stole my pursue and the Doctor stopped him." said Ariadne, speaking up in the Doctor's defense. In truth, she was beginning to realize that the Doctor was right. Performing inception might have been the thrill of a life time, but that didn't make it right. She wondered just how much they had changed Robert Fischers life. Sure he was a happier man, but did that justified violating his mind?

The others feel silent. Arthur looked sheepishly at the Doctor. Cobb cleared his throat. "We have a rescue mission to perform."

"Wait.." said Rory, starting to get it and a look of horror crossed his face, "you don't mean..."

The Doctor gently laid a comforting hand on Rory's shoulder. "Yes, he does. Amy's been trapped in her own mind."

Rory felt a lump rise in his throat. He looked over at his wife. "Can't we just wake her up?" he asked.

"There's only three ways, she'll wake up. One, if the timer on the device runs out, which won't be soon as it says it still has three weeks left on it." Rory paled. Three weeks.

"Two, if she's killed in the dream.."

"But that's only if she hasn't been sedated." put in Ariadne. Cobb nodded in agreement.

"If she has been?" asked Rory, his voice sounding very small.

"Then if he dies in the dream, her mind will go to limbo. But there is the third way."

"A kick." said Eames. Cobb quickly explained the concept of the a kick. "Unfortunately, we'll have to go in the dream to do it."

"Right." said the Doctor. "Rory and I are coming with you."

Cobb looked at them in surprise. "I don't think that's a good idea.." he began but Rory quickly cut him off.

"No. She's my wife and I am going with you. The Doctor is coming too. He's my friend and I trust him completely."

Cobb sighed. "Very well. You'll come with us."

_A/N: Yes, I know there's a bit of a loop hole as they could just do a kick now to wake her up, but then there wouldn't be an story, would there? So just try to ignore it. _


	5. All Alone

_Disclaimer: I would how things would be if Doctor Who belonged to Warners Brothers and Inception to the BBC? Hmmm...not as good as they are now I suppose._

Chapter Five: All Alone

Amy didn't know where she was or how she had gotten there. All she knew was that she was cold, wet, hungry, tired, and absolutely miserable. The constant down pour of rain as she wondered through what appeared to be a ghost town only made her spirits worse. She could handle being cold, wet, hungry, tired, and absolutely miserable, if only it would quit raining!

She decided to try and take her mind off the rain and the town and think of more important things. Where were Rory and the Doctor? She shook her head, trying to remember the last time she had seen them. The last thing she clearly remembered was them walking through Paris towards the Eiffel Tower, but that seemed like ages ago.

She shivered and put her arms instinctively around chest, trying to warm herself up. The rain was icy cold and felt more like snow than rain. She was shaking uncontrollably and she knew that if she didn't get warm soon she was going to get hypothermia. She ran over to the close building and kicked the door opened, afraid to move her arms from around her chest. She looked around.

The building, like the rest of the town, looked run down and she couldn't tell what this place might have been. It obviously hadn't been lived in for quite some time. Trash littered the floor and the place reeked with a foul odor. Amy gagged. If she hadn't been so cold and wet she would have run back out into the street. Instead, she bravely forced herself to enter.

She soon spotted what looked like what might have been a closet. She walked over to it, trying to ignore all the trash she was stepping on. The closet door creaked as she opened it and she smiled with delight when she saw what was inside. _Blankets!_

Half a dozen, big wool blankets were neatly folded and stacked on top of each other. Amy bent and grabbed them all. She then cleared away some of the trash in a corner. She put one blanket down on the floor, laid down on top of it, and put the rest of the blankets on top of her. She pulled them tight, trying to get warm.

_Rory._ She wondered where he was. Had something happened to him and the Doctor? She knew she was just borrowing trouble worrying, but she couldn't help it. She had often felt that the Doctor and Rory were helpless without her even though she knew that was certainly not the case. The Doctor had survived centuries on his own before he met her and he would survive on his own without her.

There had been a time when Amy felt the same couldn't said for Rory. He wasn't as adventurous as the Doctor nor was he as smart as he was, but Rory, her dear beloved Rory, had waited two thousand years for her. For two thousand years he had fought off anything that threatened to destroy her in the Pandorica.

Neither of them needed her. They could get on just fine on their own. No, she was the one that needed them. Without them, she felt empty. Her husband and her friend were the two people she cared most about. She wanted them, needed them with her. But they weren't. She was on her own. Amy had never felt so alone.

She wiped away the tears that started to fall down her face. _No!_ She told herself._ Stop it! You have to be strong. Like the Doctor...like Rory!_

She didn't know how long she lay there, huddled under the blankets in a deserted building in a deserted town. She was exhausted and she wanted to sleep and she closed her eyes willing sleep to come, but it alluded her.

Just when Amy thought she would go mad with boredom and lack of sleep, her eyes flew open and she sat up right. She frowned. _Crush!_ There it was again! What was that noise? She slowly removed the blankets, barely registering the fact that she was now dry. She crept on her hands and knees towards the still open door of the building. She peered out. It had stopped raining, but now instead the air was filling with a thick fog and Amy couldn't see across the street.

Amy turned to head pack to the pile of blankets and once more try and get some sleep when she heard it again. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the sound. It was soft, yet hard. After a moment's thought, she realized that it was the sound of boots on gravel and it was coming closer.

She looked out once more and saw a humanoid form moving through the fog. It passed right by her and continued to walk slowly onwards. Amy didn't know why, but she suddenly got a strong urge to follow. Without a second thought, she headed out into the fog and followed the form that was moving slowly, but purposefully.

The fog was getting thicker and Amy didn't know the person had stopped until Amy had run into him...or rather her. The woman, for it was a woman that Amy had been following, turned and started at her.

Amy let out a gasp of surprise, but also one of relief. "River!" Amy impulsively threw her arms around the other woman, but when River didn't return the gesture Amy pulled away and looked at her questioningly. River was just staring at her, a blanke expression her face. Amy thought she almost looked like a zombie.

"River?" she asked. "Are you alright?" Without answering River turned back in the direction she had been heading and walked off. "River!" Amy called after her. She took off running after the other woman, but the fog was thicker now than ever before and River was no where to be seen.

* * *

Amy stopped abruptly as she realized that she was lost. She alone and she was lost. What had happened to River? The River Song she knew would never have left her standing there alone. And now she was lost because of it! Amy was utterly and entirely all alone.

_Author's Note: I thought it was time to switch to Amy's POV. So what did you think?_


	6. Going Under

_Disclaimer: In a perfect world, Doctor Who would belong to me!_

Chapter Six: Going Under

The Doctor caught Rory's eye. The young man looked nervous and was looking at the Doctor for reassurance. The Doctor smiled, hiding his own nervousness. He had to be strong, for Rory. This was the only way they were going to find Amy. They had to do this.

Rory relaxed, assured by the Doctor's apparently calm manner. "Come on!" said the Doctor, lets do this." They were both laying on the floor. Ariadne and Arthur were connecting them to the machine.

The Doctor felt himself slipping into sleep and he was able to cast a quick glance at Rory and saw that he was too. The Doctor's eyes closed.

The next thing the Doctor knew he was standing in the middle of a street in what appeared to be a ghost town with Rory right beside him. "Wow!" Rory looked around. "It feels so...so real."

"Yeah," agreed the Doctor. "It sure does." But something felt off. Maybe it was the fact that he knew this was just a dream, but it felt like there was a cloud around his mind. He frowned as realized that it wasn't just the dream. It was had been there for some time he realized, but he just now begun to notice. When had this cloud first appeared? He tried to think back, but the more he thought the thicker the cloud became.

"Doctor." Rory's voice reminded him that they had a mission to perform. "Right." he muttered. "Amy?" he called and Rory joined his voice with his. "Amy!"

"She could be anywhere." The Doctor turned to see Cobb, Eames, Ariadne, and Arthur walking down the street towards them. It was Cobb who had spoken. "This is a pretty descent sized town. She could be anywhere."

"Alright then." said the Doctor, instantly taking charge. "Let's split up into teams of two. Ariadne and Arthur, Eames and Rory, and Cobb and me." The others nodded. Ariadne and Arthur headed west, Eames and Rory took east, while Cobb and the Doctor went north. South was the way they had come.

"So, who is this Doctor exactly?" asked Eames. He and Rory had started off by entering what had once been a grand hotel. The place was still nicely furnished, but there was dust everywhere and Rory guessed no one had been in here for quite some time.

"Oh, he's..a friend." Rory answered, not sure how to answer. He knew Eames would never believe the truth, and even if he did, he didn't want Eames to know. He seemed like the type of guy would take advantage of that information.

Eames rolled his eyes. "Obviously!" Rory ignored his sarcasm and offered no further comments as the two searched the hotel, starting with the ground floor. After a few minutes silence, Eames asked, "So what's his name?"

"The Doctor." Rory headed towards the lift. "Let's try the next floor." Eames just stared at him. "What?"

"I meant what's his real name? What do you call him?"

"The Doctor."

Eames blinked and looked at him incredulously. "The Doctor. That's really what you call him? That's his name?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know if its his real name, but that's what he goes by. If he does have a different name, I don't know it. He probably doesn't tell anyone."

Eames let that pass, but couldn't help thinking that that was very strange. "How did you meet him?"

"Through Amy actually." said Rory as the entered the lift and headed to the next floor. "She met him when she was a kid."

"So what do you guys do?"

"We travel."

"Where?"

"All over."

"All over the world?"

"Yeah," said Rory softly, "all over the world."

"This is just nuts." said Arthur as he and Ariadne left what had once been a gas station. "We're never going to find at this rate."

Ariadne shrugged. "We still have to try." They headed across the street to what Ariadne guess had been a barber's shop.

"So, what do you think of this Doctor?" Arthur asked as he pushed opened the door. "He seems kind of strange to me."

"Yeah," Ariadne agreed, "but nice." Arthur shrugged.

Cobb and the Doctor searched an abandoned movie theater in silence. Every now and then the Doctor would catch Cobb staring at him as if he were trying to figure him out, but as soon as he would catch the Doctor's eye, he'd turn away. "Why are you doing this?" Cobb asked finally.

"Amy and Rory are my friends." he answered simply. "I'd do anything for them." He looked back at Cobb. "What about you?"

"I lost my wife a while back. I guess you can say I sympathize with Rory. I can't imagine what I'd do to get her back if I were in his position." He didn't know why he was telling the Doctor this, but it just came out before he could stop it.

"I see." he said understanding. He hesitated. "What was her name?"

"Mal."

"Nice name. Do you mind me asking how she died?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." said Cobb. The Doctor nodded. Whatever had happened must be terrible. He turned away and headed towards the nearest theater

"Thanks." said Cobb. The Doctor looked back at him questioningly. "For not pressing the issue."

The Doctor nodded.

The lift stopped and Eames stepped out onto the second floor followed by Rory. They hadn't gone far when a strange noise caught their attention. "What was that?" asked Eames before Rory could answer one of the doors opened and several metal creatures entered the hallway. Rory felt his throat suddenly go dry and his face was drenched with sweat and his hands shook with fear.

"What the...?" Arthur and Ariadne looked at each other and then back that the metal creatures that had appeared from nowhere. "What are they?"

Cobb and the Doctor had just headed back towards the exit when the metal creatures seemed to come from nowhere and they found themselves surrounded. Cobb started at them in amazement. "What are they?"

In two different spots, but at the exact time the Doctor and Rory both opened there mouths and said one word. "Daleks."

_Author's Note: Well? Review!_


	7. Complications

_Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, Rose would never have been trapped in the alternate universe. Therefore, sadly, I don't own Doctor Who._

Chapter Seven_: _Complications

Amy felt like breaking down and crying. She was hopelessly lost. The fog was now so thick that she couldn't see her hand when she put it in front of her face. She shivered, but with fear not with cold.

She didn't know how long she had been out here wandering around, and she had little hope of ever being found. She was beginning to think that she had only imaged seeing River Song. It felt like she was the only person in the entire world. It felt as if everyone had vanished, everyone but her.

She sat down were she was and rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes, and hoped, as little chance as there was, that when she opened them she would be back on the TARDIS with Rory and the Doctor.

Where were they? Were they even alive? A sudden image of the two men lying on the cold ground, unmoving and not breathing forced its way into her mind and Amy quickly thrust it aside, but it was too late. The mental image had been enough and Amy felt the tears staring to come.

Amy opened her eyes and even though she hadn't moved and wasn't on board the TARDIS, she was pleased to see that the fog was clearing that she could now see further in front of her. That held some comfort.

She got to her feet and was about to head back in the direction she was fairly certain she had come from, when she something caught Amy's eye. A vague shape was make its way through the dissipating fog towards her. She blinked wondering if she were imagining things. She felt hope rise at the thought that maybe was about to be rescued...from wherever she was.

But then went it was only a couple of feet in front of her, Amy's hope vanished and absolute terror over took it. The metal shape before her was unmistakable. It was a Dalek.

Eames just stared at the Daleks in wide eyed fascination. He reached out to touch the one closest to him, but Rory quickly pulled his hand away. "Run!" he shouted, but Eames didn't seem to hear him. He couldn't take his eyes away from the Daleks.

"Exterminate!" shouted the Daleks in unison. The one that Eames had almost touched aimed at him. Rory quickly pushed Eames out of the way, the shot just barely missing Rory by an inch.

Eames suddenly seemed to have woken up as he realized what he just happened. Rory grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the hallway. "Run!" he repeated. Rory didn't have to say it a third time as Eames's feet began to move in time to Rory's own.

Arthur and Ariadne's puzzlement turned to fear when as one the Daleks shouted, "Exterminate!" Ariadne felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Arthur?" her voices was shaking. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"I guess that means its time to go." They both whirled around and rushed back outside just as one of the Daleks shot at them. The shot came within in an inch of Arthur's left ear and as the two of them ran, he didn't care to think how close he had come to being hit.

The Doctor's instincts kicked it. "Run!" he shouted, making a mad dash for the closest exit. Cobb didn't know why, but something told him to trust the Doctor on this and without asking why they should run, he turned and followed the Doctor.

Rory, Eames, Ariadne, Arthur, Cobb, and the Doctor met back up in the middle of the town. Daleks were everywhere. The small group found themselves surrounded. "Exterminate!" They all aimed.

"Wait!" shouted the Doctor and all the Daleks turned to him. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"You are the Doctor." they answered.

"Correct!" he announced proudly.

"Doctor, what exactly are Daleks?" asked Ariadne, asking the question that was on all their minds, except for Rory.

"Well, they are an extraterrestrial species that enjoys killing. Basically, if you aren't a Dalek you deserve to die...well, that's what they think anyway."

"You mean they're aliens?" asked Eames, looking at him as if he had suddenly gone crazy.

"Yes." said the Doctor. "And they...Hang on!" He stared at the Daleks and then back at the others and then back at the Daleks. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He looked at Cobb. "We are in a dream. How can the Daleks be here?"

"Projections." said Cobb.

The Doctor blinked. "Come again?"

"When you dream," said Arthur, "don't you usually see other people in your dreams?"

"I guess so." said the Doctor. The Daleks hadn't moved since they told the Doctor who he was, which Rory found quite surprising as he had expected them to have killed him and the others by now.

"Well, those are projections from your subcontinents." explained Arthur. "The same thing happens in shared dream. In this case, these projections are coming from Amy's mind."

"Ah!" the Doctor looked back at the Daleks, studying them carefully.

"So, can they hurt us?" asked Rory.

Cobb shrugged. "Usually...no. Projections usually just leave you alone and go on doing whatever is that projection usually does in your life. But there have been cases when projections have been known to attack."

"In what cases?" inquired the Doctor, keeping his eyes fixed on the Daleks.

"In cases where either, a. the dreamer realizes he (or she) is dreaming or b. the dream is trained in protection from dream invaders."

"You said," said the Doctor, "that projections just usually go about doing what they normally do, correct?"

"Correct. Why?"

"What if," he said finally turning to face Cobb, "what they normally do is kill?"

"Like in the case of the Daleks." added Rory.

"Exterminate!" shouted the Daleks again.

"Wait!" repeated the Doctor, but suddenly the Daleks were gone and the group found themselves sitting in a fancy restaurant.

"What just happened?" asked Rory.

"Dream shift, it seems." said the Doctor. "Haven't you ever been in the middle of a dream when it suddenly shifts to an entirely new dream?"

Rory nodded. The Doctor noticed the frown on the others' faces, particularly Cobb's. "What?" he asked.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of a dream shifting like this in shared dreaming." He looked from the Doctor to Rory and then back. "This could be bad. Very bad."

_Author's Note: Well, I hope you keep reading!_


	8. Good and Bad News

_Disclaimer: Give me the Doctor!_

Chapter Eight: Good and Bad News

Amy's laughter filled the room. "You're funny!" she told the man sitting next to her at the bar. She twirled her finger through her ginger hair and smiled at him. It seemed like they had been talking for hours, yet if anyone had asked how she had gotten there, she wouldn't have been able to say.

He smiled back. "So, Miss Pond," he said popping the "p" in a way that Amy found absolutely adorable, "you're from Leadworth, is that right?" She nodded. "Lovely place Leadworth."

"What? You've been there?" asked Amy.

"Oh, yes! I've been all over the place."

"So, you're a traveler?" He nodded. "How exciting! I used to do a bit of traveling myself."

"Really?" he sounded interest. "Alone?"

She shook her head. "No, I was with a couple of friends. What about you?"

"Same." He smiled again and Amy couldn't help thinking how cute he was.

"So, this isn't usual?" asked the Doctor, pretending to study the menu. "You've never heard of this sort of thing happening before?"

"Never." confirmed Cobb. "The only way that this could even be remotely possible is with dreams within dreams."

"How do you know that that isn't the case?" asked Rory.

"Because someone would have had to put us under again." said Eames. "Which, obviously nobody did."

The Doctor put down the menu, closed his eyes and sat back, trying to think. After a few seconds they opened again. "You said that the dreams were designed. What if the person who designed the dream, designed it to shift at some point in time?"

Cobb thought about this. "Could be. Just don't know of anyone who's ever done it before. Why would they? It would just make things more complicated."

"Everything about this is complicated." said the Doctor.

"Not everything," said Ariadne suddenly. "I think it just got a lot simpler." All eyes turned to her. She pointed over to the bar. "Isn't that Amy right there? In the black dress?"

Rory took a deep breath, then slowly followed the line of her finger. "It is! Amy!" He jumped up from his seat. "We found her!"

Rory's attention was entirely rapt on Amy so he didn't notice the Doctor's eyes widen in utter disbelief. Although he was glad to see Amy, his attention was focused solely on the man sitting next to her. "It can't be." he whispered under his breath and the others didn't hear. What on earth was he doing here?

Cobb had said the projections were coming from Amy's subconscious, but Amy had never met the man before! She couldn't possibly be dreaming him up. He pulled on Cobb's sleeve getting his attention.

"Is it possible," he whispered, "for one of us to bring a projection into this dream and not just Amy?"

Cobb nodded. "Yes." He thought of the times he had brought Mal into a dream and then quickly looked around to make sure that he hadn't accidentally brought her back. "Why do you ask?"

"Amy!"

Amy looked up to see Rory and she smiled. "Rory, what are you doing here?" Rory was taken aback by her tone. It was that of someone who is seeing a friend they haven't seen in a while, instead of a wife who was taken from her husband.

"Who's your friend?" asked the man before Rory could answer. 

"Oh, this is Rory Williams. A childhood friend." Rory felt as if the world had suddenly stopped spinning. A childhood friend? She didn't remember. He was her husband, she was his wife and she didn't remember. "Rory, this is John Smith."

The Doctor studied him carefully. Could he have brought a projection of one of his past selves into the dream? No, the Doctor decided, he didn't think it was possible to do that, besides he wasn't a Time Lord, the Doctor could tell that. No, the Doctor corrected himself, he was only part Time Lord, the rest of him was human, so that meant only one thing: the Doctor was staring at a projection of the Human/Metacrisis Doctor.

"Rory?" asked Amy, her voice filled with concern. "Are you okay?" Rory couldn't speak, he felt numb and he suddenly collapsed to the floor. "Rory!" She jumped to her feet at the same time that John Smith got to his, but before either one could get to him, the Doctor was kneeling over the unconscious form of Rory.

"Doctor?" asked Amy.

"Hello, Amy." he answered without even bothering to look up at her. He checked Rory's pulse and heart beat. "He's alright. He'll come around soon."

John Smith was staring at the Doctor. "Doctor?" he said repeating Amy's words. "Did you just call him the Doctor?" The Doctor sighed and stood up and faced him.

"Yes, she did."

"Wait." said Amy catching on. "You too know each other?"

"Oh, yes. In fact," said John, "I am him."

"Huh?" said Amy, totally confused.

"Long story." said the Doctor. "I'll explain later I promise, but first we have to get out of here."

"Go? Go where?"

"She doesn't remember." said a soft voice. The Doctor looked down at Rory to see that he was now awake and staring at them. "She told him I was just a childhood friend. She doesn't remember."

The Doctor looked sharply back at Amy. "Oh, that's not good. Oh, bugger!"

"Remember what?" asked Amy.

"Amy," the Doctor put his hands on her shoulder, "Rory is your husband."

Amy laughed. "Nice one, Doctor."

"I'm not joking." he said, his voice deadly serious.

"Why would I ever marry him?"

"Thanks." said Rory, this voice filled with infinite hurt.

"Oh, Rory, I didn't mean it like that." said Amy.

The Doctor was only half listening. He was however looking around the restaurant as if he were expecting to see someone. He had, he realized, been doing that every since that he had brought a projection of the Human/Metacrisis Doctor into the dream. John noticed.

"She's not here." he said, his voice suddenly very sad.

"Who?" asked the Doctor, but just as he said the word he realized who it was he had been looking for. "No, of course not." he said quickly turning back to Rory and helping him to his feet. "You alright?"

"Doctor." there was some thing in John Smith's tone that made the Doctor turn back and look at him. His eyes held sorrow...and was that pity? "Doctor, Rose is dead."

_Author's Note: I know, I know, I'm evil ending the chapter like that, but it is gonna get better I promise. Oh, by the way, be honest, now, you thought it was Captain Jack at first, didn't you?_


	9. Just a Projection

_Disclaimer: Give me the Doctor...or the human one dies!_

* * *

_Author's Note: I figured I'd better update pretty soon after that last chapter just so that I don't drive you all nuts with waiting._

Chapter Nine: Just a Projection

The Doctor froze and the rest of the restaurant went suddenly still and silent as if the world itself was holding its breath waiting for the Doctor's reaction. All eyes were on him and while everyone (except for the Doctor and John Smith) were wondering who Rose was (or rather who Rose had been), only two pairs of eyes saw the immense anguish and pain in the Doctor's. The first belonged to John as he had expected to find it. The second belonged to Cobb who had experience such grief himself that he had learned to see it other people.

The Doctor felt as if both his hearts had stopped beating. The last time he had seen Rose had been shortly before he had regenerated into his current form and he tried not to think about it, about her. As much as he would like to deny it, he was still in love with Rose...and he always would be.

He took a deep breathing, trying to get his head around what John had just said, but then he remembered. "No." he said. "She's not." He said it with such confidence that Amy and Rory believed him and they each came to the conclusion that John Smith had been mistaken.

John blinked. "Doctor," he said gently. "She is. I was with her when it happened. I wouldn't make something like this up."

"You," said the Doctor pointing at him, "are not real."

"I beg your pardon?" asked John.

"You are not real." the Doctor repeated. "You are merely a projection of my subconscious."

"Come again?" asked John, getting even more confused.

"This," said the Doctor gesturing around the restaurant, "is not real. It is a dream."

"He's gone bonkers." Amy whispered to Rory. Rory shook his head.

"Amy," the Doctor began, "was kidnapped and forced into a dream. Rory and I along with Cobb here and his team of experts came into the dream to get her. We are the only things that are real here."

"Correction: really bonkers." whispered Amy.

"You are not real. Therefore when you say that Rose is dead, it isn't true. Besides, I would know if Rose were dead. I would just feel it if she were, but I don't. In fact I feel that she is alive right now."

"Um, guys." said Ariadne. "Where are we?" Everyone looked around to realize that they were no longer in the restaurant. Instead they were standing on a beach, but not just any beach. _D__å__lig Ulv Stranden,_ the Doctor realized and suddenly cursed under his breath.

Of all the places for his subconscious to take them! Out every place he had ever been this was the only one that held his two worst memories. "This is where it happened." whispered John sadly and the Doctor turned to look at him. "This is where Rose died." he explained.

Amy was starting to panic. "How did we get here?" she asked. One moment they had been at the restaurant and the next they were on some beach.

"Dream shift." said Rory. Amy looked at him incredulously.

"Not you too!"

"How else would you explain it?" Ariadne asked her.

"Oi!" The Doctor's eyes nearly popped out of his head. There was only person who his subconscious could recreate that talked like that. He turned to see Donna Noble staring at them all. "You lot lost?"

The Doctor had to remind himself that she was just a projection, otherwise he would have thrown his arms around her in a hug. "Um..." was all he could say. He wondered since she was a projection if she would know him. John Smith hadn't, until Amy had called him by his name. He looked at John to see if Donna would recognize him. But John had disappeared. As the Doctor turned to the others, they didn't even seem acknowledge Donna's presence.

The Doctor looked back at Donna who was staring at the others in confusing as if she too had reached the same conclusion the Doctor had: he was the only one who could see or hear her. "I guess so." he answered.

Donna looked back at him. "Why can't they see or hear me?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Even though you are a projection they still should be able to see and hear you."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "Projection?"

"I'm dreaming...well, we all are. That is my friends and I are. You are not real. You are merely here as part of the dream." _Whack! _The Doctor nearly fell back as he realized that Donna had just slapped him.

"That real enough for ya, sunshine?" she demanded, gritting her teeth.

"Ouch, Donna! That hurt!"

Her eyes widened. "You know my name!"

"Of course, I do."

"Who are you?"

"The Doctor."

Donna gasped, then she slapped him again. "Ow! What was that one for?"

"For erasing my memory!" Then she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

"I did it to save your life."

"I know." She pulled way and smiled at him. He smiled back, wishing that she weren't just a projection and that she really were there.

Just then a scream tore threw the air and the Doctor took off towards the direction it had come from, Donna right behind him. It felt like old times and the Doctor couldn't help but cast her another smile which she returned.

They soon found Amy, Rory, Cobb and the others standing around in a circle starting at something on the ground. The pushed passed them and then nearly collapsed. There on the ground was the lifeless form of Rose Tyler.

He felt his knees buckle out from under him, so he quickly knelt down next to her. Even though he knew that this was not real, that this was all part of a dream, it seemed so real. So real, that he felt his whole body begin to shake and rack with sobs and then a wordless cry of anguish tore from his throat and he held Rose's body to him as he began to cry.

_Author's Note: Okay, can I please, please, get more reviews? So far I have only about one per chapter!_


	10. The Cruelty of a Dream

_Disclaimer: **sigh** Obviously even the producers don't care for the human doctor that much. _

Chapter Ten: The Cruelty of a Dream

"I'm so sorry, Doctor." said Donna gently putting a hand on his arm. He gave her a sad smile. He looked over at Amy and the others who had all wondered off and were walking along the beach. They didn't seem dully concerned that they had just found a body on the beach and that the Doctor had been crying his hearts out. It fact it rather seemed as if they had suddenly forgotten about Rose's body.

He looked down at her. Her head was on his lap and she looked so peaceful, almost like she was asleep, instead of dead. He gently moved a strand of hair from her face. He frowned. He knew, he knew that this was just a dream and that the real Rose was out there somewhere...with the real human doctor.

Even though he knew this wasn't real, it made him realize just how much he really missed Rose. She had been the last human being he had seen before he regenerated into his current form and he had tried not to think about her, but she was such a big part of who he was that he could not forget her entirely and it was until he had seen the projection of her lying dead on the beach that he realized that he still loved her...and that he always would.

Only the projection of Donna knew what he was going through and he was glad that she was there, projection or not. He wished that there had been another way...any way to save her life. But no. It was the curse of a Time Lord to lose those he cared most about.

He glanced back at the others and his frown deepened. "This is just wrong. All of it is." he muttered.

"What is?" asked Donna.

"How come they can't see? Why did the human doctor just vanish into thin air? And how come they don't seem to remember finding Rose's body?"

"I thought you thought this is a dream." said Donna. "If it is, anything is possible."

The Doctor shook his head. "Not this dream. Not this kind of dream." He stood up and picked up Rose's body and held it protectively in his arms. "This is a shared dream. Someone designed it. Someone is controlling it. But who and why?"

"Doctor!" Amy coming running up to him. She still didn't see Donna or Rose's body. "Doctor, it's River!" she pointed to a woman walking like a zombie along the beach. "I tried talking to her, but it's like she can't hear or see me."

He sighed. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. "River!" he turned to see Rory trying to get her attention, but River just kept on walking.

"Where's she going?" asked Amy. The Doctor shrugged.

"I don't know, but let's find out." Amy and the unseen Donna trudged after him as he caught up with Rory. Cobb and his team seemed to have disappeared just like the human doctor.

As they followed behind the zoned River, the Doctor felt the cloud around his mind tighten and he frowned. What was going on? The cloud had been getting bigger as the dream went on. He sighed.

Suddenly a metal door appeared from nowhere. River opened it and it closed shut behind her. Rory tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. He and Amy both turned to the Doctor expectantly.

"What?"

"Sonic screwdriver." said Rory.

"Ah! Yes. Of course. Um.." He was still holding Rose's body, unseen to Rory or Amy, and he didn't just want to lay her on the ground. But looking through his pockets was going to be difficult holding her.

"Here," said Donna, holding out her arms."I'll take her." The Doctor nodded and then careful lay Rose in Donna's arms. Then he patted his pockets and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Donna looked at it in surprise. "It's different." He nodded in the affirmative. He aimed the screwdriver at the door and pushed the button. The door flew open.

The Doctor hesitated and then slowly poked his head through the open door. He turned back to look at his friends. Donna wondered what he had seen, for he suddenly looked very sad. He stepped back from the door and waved them through. Amy and Rory went first. Donna hesitated and shifted her hold on Rose's body. "I'll take her back now." said the Doctor, his voice held infinite sorrow.

She gently handed Rose back to him and then stepped threw the door. She gasped. She suddenly found herself in the most beautiful place she had ever seen. They were over looking a cliff, starting at a magnificent white city. Amy and Rory were oohing and aahing. She turned to face the Doctor as he came forward, clutching Rose's body close to him.

"Where are we?" Donna, Amy, and Rory all asked at once.

The Doctor sighed. "We're on Galifray." A tear rolled down his cheek.

"Oh, Doctor." said Donna. First Rose and now this. She didn't know how he could bear it. Amy and Rory, however, were looking puzzled.

"What's Galifray?" asked Rory.

"My planet. Home to the Time Lords. It's gone now. Destroyed in the Time War, along with the rest of my race."

"Oh." Rory didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry" just did seem adequate enough. He couldn't imagine how the Doctor must be feeling right now. How would he feel if Earth had been destroyed and he were the last human alive?

"Where's River?" asked Amy suddenly remembering the reason they were here. The Doctor studied her closely before answering. How come she remembered River, but not Rose's dead body lying on the beach? She didn't even seem to notice that the human doctor, Cobb, and the others were missing. Had she forgotten them to? And how come she couldn't see Donna? Something was definitely not right.

"I don't know." he said finally.

"Dad!" The Doctor froze. The voice had come from behind him and he slowly turned around to see a young blond woman running towards him, waving and smiling.

"That can't be!" said Donna. "That's...that's Jenny!" As the Doctor watched the projection of his daughter coming towards him, he suddenly felt very angry. Whoever had designed this dream was getting crueler and crueler. Rose, Galifray, and Jenny. How much more of this could he take?

"That's it! We are waking up and we are waking up now!" He handed Rose's body to Donna, kissed it on the cheek, and then sauntered over to Amy and Rory. He remembered what Cobb had said about a kick. Without bothering to explain what he was doing, he threw himself at this two companions causing all three of them to tumble over the edge of the cliff. As they went over he heard Donna and Jenny scream.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he was relieved to see that they were back in the abandoned warehouse. Rory and Amy were awake too. Amy rubbed her eyes. "What on earth just happened?" she asked.

"It was a dream," said the Doctor, "and I just woke us up."

"By knocking us off the edge of a cliff?" said Rory. "What were you thinking?"

"I knew we'd wake up." said the Doctor. Rory and Amy looked like they wanted to argue, but then the Doctor suddenly realized that he had bigger problems to deal with. Cobb and his crew were no where to be seen. "Where are they? Where are Cobb, Ariadne, and the others?"

Rory and Amy just stared at him blankly. "Who?"

_Author's Note: Alright, how hard is it to write a simple review? So far only one of you is reviewing this story and I know there are much more of you reading at. So please! Review! _


	11. The Moment of Truth

_Disclaimer: Give me the Doctor or the annoying green sonic screwdriver is going have a serious accident._

Chapter Eleven: The Moment of Truth

The Doctor blinked. He had thought that Cobb and the others had disappeared from the dream because they had waken up. He had thought that when he, Rory, and Amy woke up they would remember Cobb and his team.

He frowned. "Nevermind." He didn't want to press the issue. "Come on. I think it's time he left." They followed him out of the room, door the stairs, and out of the building...and into the rain.

"Good grief!" said Amy. "I wish we had an umbrella." For the Doctor the rain was the last of his problems. Cobb, Ariadne, Arthur, and Eames had simply disappeared and neither Rory nor Amy remembered them. Could the crack in time be back?

He shook his head. No, the crack had closed. Besides, even if Cobb and the others had been sucked into the crack, Amy and Rory should still remember them. He sighed. Thing just kept getting more and more complicated.

He froze. For just the briefest fraction of a second, the cloud around his mind had lifted, but now it was back and stronger than ever. He scowled. "Leave me alone!"

"Doctor?" Rory and Amy were both staring at him in concern. "You okay?" He ignored them and kept walking and Rory and Amy had to trot to keep up with him.

The Doctor was so focused on finding out what was going on, that he didn't look where he was going, that is until he ran into someone...literally. "Ouch! Watch where you're going!" The Doctor blinked. If it wasn't one thing, it was another!

"What on earth are you doing here?" he demanded. The other man scowled at him.

"What am I doing here? What sort of question is that? What business is it of yours?" Rory glared at him. How dare he speak to the Doctor like that!

"And how do you think you are?" he asked.

The Doctor sighed. "Rory, Amy, this is Captain Jack Harkness." Jack, Rory, and Amy turned to him in surprise.

"That's right." said Jack, his eyes narrowing. "How did you know that?"

"You know this man, Doctor?" asked Amy and Jack gasped. His eyes widened as looked the Doctor up and down.

"Doctor? You've regenerated?" The Doctor suddenly felt very stupid. He had completely forgotten that Jack hadn't seen him since his last regeneration and therefore would not have recognized him.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. Forgot about that."

"Whoa! Hold on!" said Rory. "What do you mean by regenerated?"

"Time Lords regenerate when they're dying." said Jack, before the Doctor could begin to explain. "Every single cell in their body changes and they become a new person...literally. They take on a new look, a new personality. The only thing that stays the same is their memories." He turned to the Doctor. "Just out of curiosity, how did you regenerate?"

"I absorbed too much radiation."

"Why on earth did you do that?"

"To save Wilf." Jack looked puzzled. "Wilfred Mott, Donna's grandfather." the Doctor clarified.

"Who's Donna?" asked Jack and The Doctor just stared at him. Things were getting worse and worse. Jack had forgotten Donna. How was that possible? Donna was the easiest person to remember! Surely Jack could not have forgotten the red-head who was trying so hard to flirt with him.

"Jack, when was the last time you saw me?" the Doctor asked.

"Honestly? Before you abandoned me in the year 200,100." said Jack. The Doctor grew pale. This was even worse than he had thought. Jack, however, seemed to be able to read his thoughts.

"It's not what you think it is, Doctor."

"Then what is it?"

Jack hesitated, looked at Rory and Amy, then back at the Doctor. "How's that cloud around your mind, Doctor?"

The Doctor's jaw dropped. "How did you know about that?"

"What cloud? What's he talking about?" asked Amy.

"Think, Doctor." said Jack, ignoring her. "Think very hard. What was the last thing that happened to you before the cloud came?"

"I don't know. I didn't realize it was there at first...not for a long time."

"Think, Doctor!" Jack urged. "Close your eyes and think very hard!"

The Doctor closed his eyes and he tried to push past the cloud in his mind. It seemed to grow the harder he pushed, but he refused to give in. It would not defeat him. He would defeat it! Then it was gone and his eyes flew open as he knew. He knew the truth, the terrible, wonderful, truth.

He looked at Jack and the captain smiled. "Yes, Doctor, that's exactly it. Now, the question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rory asked. The Doctor looked at him and then at Amy. He smiled sadly at them. Then he looked back at the expectant Jack.

"Coming, Captain?" Jack nodded and together the two began to walk off, leaving Rory and Amy behind.

"Wait!" They called after them, but the Doctor and Jack just kept walking. The Doctor brushed away a stray tear.

"So, where do you want to do it?" asked Jack.

"The Eiffel Tower." answered the Doctor. Jack nodded. It made sense. It was a long walk though and the two men hailed a taxi. Five minutes later, they were on their way to the top.

"You nervous?" asked Jack. The Doctor shook his head. "Good. Me neither." They reached the top and looked out over the city. "Ready?" The Doctor nodded.

People screamed as the they themselves over the rails and off the tower, falling into darkness.

_Author's Note: If you haven't figured it out yet, all will be revealed next chapter! So keep reading and please, keep reviewing!_


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